The first-floor storefront, which had been converted into an apartment, still evoked more of a man-cave vibe than sophisticated BYOB because the tenant had just moved out on Friday.

Chef Joncarl Lachman says the space won’t feel like that for long. Come April, Lachman expects to have the restaurant fully operational. Although landlord PARC has yet to acquire a building permit, they’re hoping to begin interior demolition next week.

Chef Joncarl Lachman (right) and Sam Sherman, head of PARC, the restaurant’s landlord, are all smiles.

The changes won’t need to be too dramatic. They’ll remove a wall partitioning the dining area in half so they can fit the envisioned 36 seats, connect the back addition, which will be used as a dishwashing/prep area to the main area, replace the windows with accordion-style fling-out windows and other small changes.

Once the divider is gone, this space will fit 36 diners.

Out with the old, in with the new.

To offset the dry talk of alteration plans and zoning restrictions, Lachman also provided a sample menu. House-smoked fish, 10-hour beer-braised corned beef, Swedish meatball sandwich and other treats. Better yet, Lachman hopes to keep the prices for all entrees below $28 while locally sourcing produce, no small feat.

A sample brunch menu

Since 1046 Tasker is already zoned for a commercial space, Lachman, who will love above the restaurant, does not anticipate any problems in securing the necessary permits. He will, however, still need to get permission for the outdoor seating he desires. The East Passyunk Crossing civic will hear that application at its next zoning committee on Feb. 27.

Exterior site plan

Meanwhile, our bet still stands. We put the over-under on first night of dining service at May 10, and Lachman took our bet. Winner gets a fancy bottle of champange. Go time is less than two months away. We can taste that bubbly now.